More than once, I have written about some of my sad experiences when, working in HR some years back, I had the unfortunate responsibility of going over hundreds of application letters every time a vacancy occurred. My main conplaint complaint–how come college graduates were unable to compose decent application letters? Some didn’t even know the difference between a phrase and a complete sentence. And, in many cases, spelling was bad. It wasn’t exactly bad English. Some wrote their application letters in Filipino but I saw the same problems–especially basic errors in grammar. Gee, there is a difference between the use of “ng” and “nang”. That’s elementary. And college graduates weren’t even aware of that? I found that appalling.
The attached curriculum vitae were the easy part. Blank forms are widely sold and many applicants simply filled them out. But, to me, the application letter was crucial–that’s the telling part because it showed how well an applicant could express his thoughts, his level of confidence and his understanding of what the position required.
When the text lingo became popular and I witnessed my own daughter’s penchant for its use, I panicked. But after realizing that it did not affect her academic performance, I eased off nagging her. I wrote about it a few weeks ago if you’re interested. Note, though, that all my reponses in the comment thread are missing as a result of some disaster a couple of weeks ago. Hence, there is a lack of continuity in the thread.
I suppose I have a lot to feel relieved about especially after reading the following account of a high school senior in the United States:
The first day of class was spent reading letters of the previous year’s students. I believed this would be enlightening, … Instead, I struggled through my reading. Stumbling over legions of misspelled words, improper grammar and various words used incorrectly. My goodness, these were papers written by seniors! They should at least understand the difference in “there, their and theirs,” alas, they did not. Words such as “truth” were written as “truthe”, “to” was expressed as “2″. I mean, the occasional missing comma I can understand, but making such blatant errors should be unheard of! These kids are going to have a dismal time filling out job applications.
You can read the full entry in Progressive U. And I highly recommend reading the comment thread as well, especially the part about American slang written by “Musicrules”. I was so reminded of Filipinos picking up the use of “anyways” for “anyway” and acting like it’s the coolest thing. I mean, gee, the use of chat/text lingo in SMS and IM may be a culture or even a generation thing. But using such lingo in school essays…??? 
I do wonder how job application letters will read like ten years from now.
A friend was asked to teach a year at Tufts (after his graduate studies at same school as full scholar) and was obliged to agree. He was completely appalled at most of his students (freshmen) who lacked proper writing skills. He was even more astounded at how these kids got in at Tufts.
Sorry, but this is the edited version, di ko kasi na proofread agad, kakahiya tungkol pa man din sa spelling. Sorry.
Hello Ate Sassy,
Even with my 6th graders I struggle with atrocious spelling errors. A common error is the use of "alot" instead of "a lot." Another favorite "could of" instead of "could have."
Last week I almost went ballistic when a handful of my kids complained that the reason they did not understand Rudyard Kipling's Mowgli's Brothers is because it was written in …. "British!" (pertaining to old English)
I almost fainted.
Hi Sassy!
I agree –when I was still working, it used to stress/freak me out when I would get less than impeccable memos from the bosses. Not that I'm such a paragon, but I expected better from people I work for! My college roommate is currently teaching English at UP and some of her Comm I and Comm 2 students are just unbelievable.
I think that before any person starts using slang or becomes creative with any language, they should be pretty well-versed in the language to make any deviations.
I also panicked when abbreviations for text messaging became a fad. Somehow, I felt that the spellings will soon change. As you know, language is culture and as such is alive and continuously changing. But then, I thought, if it was going to change, then I guess it will be alright as that will be the normal spelling in the future. Hindi na rin siya mali.
Anyway, in my correspondences with american friends, some are really notorious spellers. I guess they spell words as they sound and not as they should have been spelled. Of course, nobody bothers to edit friendly correspondences so, they don't look it up in the dictionary anymore.
Oh, goody, I'm not the only one appalled. Or, maybe, that's not good because that means the problem is really widespread.
I edit a magazine and I get a lot of email from high school students. I'd say only one out of ten "Dear Editor" letters is written in correct English, with correct spelling, as well as proper punctuation and capitalization. What's even more distressing is that seven out ten of them beg to have their work published! Nyay!!!
My daughter in college once mentioned it in an interview: " If nobody learns to spell entire words, it will be the death of the written word."
at that time, I thought she was such a snob because she complained of friendster bloggers who wrote in text lingo. I never knew what she meant until I read a blog entry in text lingo. How horrible . I could barely read it.
When I noticed my son's English spelling becoming lousy, I brought out my old Scrabble board and we had a go at it almost daily. Cured him of it. Now I sometimes defer to him. Not bad.
Playing Scrabble is fun, subtle and non-invasive way of improving spelling and vocabulary. What I like about playing the game rather than reading is that a player who knows that the word exist can force the other one to look it up in the dictionary for cross reference checking.
hey sas…
your font color doesn't go well with your background color…can't see it well enough to read it….
fyi hehe
Chris, the background color of this panel is white.
well siguro if you applying for a job, and when they see a wrong spelling on you papers, you're doomed, i remember noon sa THE VOICE sa CHS, maraming wrong spelling getting published, siguro bulag yong editor, musta ka na…..
k lang ako. ikaw? re The Voice: di lang wrong spelling, wrong grammar pa. I remember getting into an argument with the teacher-adviser… The phrase in the article was "never it is too late". I said wrong. Should be "never is it too late". Ayaw patalo, eh, teacher daw sya. Eh di leche na publish yung wrong grammar.
When the book Eats, Shoots, and Leaves came out, it was both amusing and appalling to realise the problem happens everywhere, even in the UK. But the amateur copy editor in me does want to bring out the virtual red pen and eraser when I read horrible grammar or see poor spelling. I can condone verbal mistakes, but the written kind irks me to no end.
kakatawa talaga yung ayaw magpa-correct. i just read this news article in a Thai English-language daily. The article's title said something like "Now, he must walk the walk". A reader who I would assume is Thai (and not as confident with his English as the editor) had the courage to comment on the 'walk the walk' thing. Sumagot yung editor, saying "Why don't you check it up on the web!" Apologize naman yung reader. But I couldn't help it so I wrote to him pointing out his error. Hirap nun. E di yung ibang Thai na nakabasa na nag-re-rely sa supposed expertise nya will start saying "walk the walk" na rin. Anyway, the content of the article would show that what he was really trying to say was "walk the talk"! Mahirap yung di na nga marunong, mas mahirap pa lalo yung ayaw magpa-correct, hindi ba? Sometimes, one must eat humble pie.
Mila, perhaps it's getting complacent with our native language. In the Philippines, radio and TV broadcasters murder the Filipino language in every imaginable way everyday.
Wala bang link, jas?
I think this is true not only for Filipinos but Americans as well. Just watch Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" and you'll find that Americans are even more appalling… and that's their native language! Anyway, I heard that wrong grammar, misspellings, etc. are true not only for job applications… but for bar exams as well! Now, THAT is very alarming! Could you imagine what would happen if all legal forms were in text lingo? Ayayay!
Oh my gosh, Toe!
Hi Connie!
hehe, actually meron ako sa friendster. pero lately, i've had difficulty inputting my entries (the font sizing has become quite unpredictable). so, I just started a new one sa i.ph. i'll update as soon as medyo presentable na
Sometime last year, I came across with an article that American college teachers are complaining of the increasingly poor quality of high school graduates due to poor grammar and spellings. It mentioned about the increasing influence of text messaging and how young generations carry on spur of the moment conversation these days.
hehe … i am also guilty of grammar … i can see that in my posting above ….
mnsan nkkns tlga pg may ng cment ng txt msg saU. prng gsto mng sapakin.
alala ko 2loy yng jk ni ate sienna, tngkl sa txter na namatay…
heto yung prayer for the soul of the dead texter na galing kay ate sienna…
LEts pAuse 4 a wHile
& prAy 4d sOul
f ur bEloVed
cO-texTer
wHo rcEntLy
paSsed aWay…
dHil aNg P_tAnG_nA!!!
nHulog s bUboNg
s kkhAnap ng siGnal!!!
C U n Manila!
Jay
Bad grammar is still one of the greatest weaknesses of job applicants these days. In their mind they think that as long as they can communicate an idea, there shouldn't be a problem. Readers get irritated by bad grammar and the point in discussion is lost.
Even when they get the job, promotion poses another obstacle. How can we have managers who can't do proper presentations or speak effectively in front of a group of people?
Bayi, you know what I find even worse? It's being aware that your superior is making all those mistakes and you can't correct him. And you don't know whether you're doing him a favor by not telling him or whether you're allowing him to make a fool of himself by not telling him.
Add to that, even road signs are in text lingo nowadays! Ever came across a PED XING sign? The first time I saw one, thought the street was named after a Chinese guy. Even the taxi driver I asked thought so too. Turns out PED XING means PEDestrian CROSS-ing. *sigh
sarah, LOL I didn't know that either until my husband told me. I thought it was a street sign too named after a Chinese named Ped Xing. I even tried researching who Ped Xing was hahahahaha
Hi Jas!
So you're in Bangkok too? The Thais are still grappling with English and as you know, there's a good market for English teachers and editors here. In fact, I just got hired by a multinational company to help edit their documents in English. A Filipino friend here remarked, "I'd go ask all these malls and other Thai companies to pay me 1,000 Baht a month just to correct all the errors in English in their signages etc." =)